Seattle Trademark Lawyer

Seattle alternative newspaper The Stranger discussed a threatened trademark lawsuit today in its blog, Slog. It states the Women’s Expressive Theater, Inc., of New York has sent “four cease and desist letters” to the Washington Ensemble Theatre of Seattle over the latter’s acronym, WET. Last year, Women’s obtained a federal registration for WET in connection with “education and entertainment in the nature of theater productions, live readings of plays, screenplays and fiction, organizing panel discussions, conducting workshops, providing facilities for showing films, all related to women and the arts.” Women’s apparently thinks Seattle theatergoers are likely to be confused between the two companies since they are both WET for short.

The Stranger quotes a Washington Ensemble member as asking: “What is the state of nonprofit theater in America today when one theater across the country doesn’t believe we can co-exist in a national marketplace, and would rather tie up both their artists and ours in lawsuits and going to court instead of making art?”

That’s a great question. Let’s hope we never find out.

Thanks to Spam Notes blogger Venkat Balasubramani for bringing this story to my attention.